(UN News)* —Haiti is in freefall. Gangs are tightening their grip on the capital, violence is spreading, and “suffering permeates all social strata” in a nation teetering on the brink, according to the UN human rights office’s designated expert on the country, William O’Neill.
After his fourth visit to assess conditions on the ground, Mr. O’Neill briefed journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, describing a nation overwhelmed by pain and despair. “I hate to sound like a broken record,” he said, “but the situation is more dire each time I go”.
Despite the efforts of the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, the threat of the capital falling under full gang control looms larger than ever.
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 2025 (IPS)* –– Faced with an impending cash crisis primarily due to non-payment of dues by the US and over 100 other member states– along with threats of a US withdrawal from the world body– there were widespread rumors the United Nations was re-costing and reducing its approved budget for 2025 while deciding to freeze hiring new staffers.
The UN Secretariat building in New York City, where staff of the UN Secretariat carry out the day-to-day work of the UN. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías
The United States currently pays about 22% of the United Nations’ regular budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. As of now, the United States owes $1.5 billion to the UN’s regular budget.
And, between the regular budget, the peacekeeping budget, and international tribunals, the total amount the US owes is $2.8 billion.
DHAKA, Bangladesh, – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns of a critical funding shortfall for its emergency response operations in Bangladesh, jeopardizing food assistance for over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Photo: WFP/Su Myat Yadanar
Without urgent new funding, monthly rations must be halved to US$6 per person, down from US$12.50 per person – just as refugees prepare to observe Eid, marking the end of Ramadan.
(UN News)* — Amid deep cuts to global humanitarian funding, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, on allocated $110 million to neglected crises across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said that more than 300 million people urgently need assistance.
But funding has been falling annually, and this year’s levels are projected to drop to a record low.
GENEVA, 7 March 2025 – On this year’s International Women’s Day, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that critical funding shortages are leaving displaced women and girls at unprecedented risk.
Reports of conflict-related sexual violence have surged by 50 per cent in recent years. Yet funding shortfalls are forcing humanitarian organizations to cut essential services in crisis-affected regions.
(UN News)* — Humanitarian agencies warned on Friday that ongoing Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank are exacerbating an already dire situation for displaced Palestinians.
The UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) reports that Israeli authorities have started demolishing more than 16 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp,after destroying more than two dozen homes over the past week in the occupied West Bank.
DAKAR, Senegal, 7 March 2025 –The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that life-saving food and nutrition assistance in Central Sahel and Nigeria will halt in April 2025 without urgent funding.
Photo: WFP/Evelyn Fey
This warning comes as the lean season – the period between harvests when hunger peaks – is anticipated to arrive earlier than usual this year across the Sahel region. Millions, including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), still rely on WFP’s food assistance for survival.
Damascus/ Geneva, 7 March 2025 – A new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that almost 750,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their places of origin in Syria since November 2024.
However, some seven million remain displaced within the country, which is recovering from 14 years of war.
The distribution of vital winter items to families in Idleb’s Harim district. Photo Credit IOM/ 2024 Enver Muhamme
(UN News)* —After several years of fragile truce, there is a “palpable” fear of a return to all-out war in Yemen, on said Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg, briefing the UN Security Council.
The “current trajectory is deeply concerning,” he told ambassadors, updating them on the latest political developments in the country, where Houthi rebels – formally known as Ansar Allah – have been battling Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, for more than a decade.
He spoke alongside UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher who updated on the recent humanitarian constraints and emphasised the impact of the worsening situation facing women in the country.
(UN News)* — In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), insecurity and horrific sexual violence have left tens of thousands fleeing across borders with no sign of the exodus stopping, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 